I didn't see this matter specifically diaried. If so, pardon the repetition.
Today, Arianna Huffington significantly announced that Huffington Post will launch an investigative journalism fund. She stated:
I'm delighted that today we are launching a new venture -- The Huffington Post Investigative Fund. This nonprofit Fund will produce a wide-range of investigative journalism created by both staff reporters and freelance writers.
More on the flip.
The economic downturn and the evolving new media paradigm have already killed print versions of the major daily newspapers in Denver and Seattle. Here in San Francisco, our last remaining daily, the Chronicle, is at the edge of the cliff. So much so that the paper reported last Saturday that a philanthropic effort is afoot to save it.
Even if the Chronicle is saved, alas any investigative journalism that might occur will be scant because of limited resources. Presently, and perhaps permanently, we are increasingly reliant on web-based journalism resources for the investigative journalism we previously depended on newspapers and magazines in print to perform. Hats off to Arianna and the Huffington Post on today's announcement. It's welcome news in an era when good news is few and far between. May it be just the beginning of many more similar announcements coming from online journals indicating that investigative journalism will healthily survive the relative demise of the newspaper in print.